Sonora Elementary Students Pitch the Arts to City Council

Members of the Costa Mesa City Council received special gifts from the children of Sonora Elementary on Tuesday, April 19. The youngsters - Russel Zuniga , Samantha Nguyen , Lesly Marin, Tristin Taber, Sarah Ashley and Kaelee Mills - joined Sonora Principal Christine Anderson, teachers Peggy Roberts and Terri Munroe and the Center's Vice President, Education Talena Mara to underscore the importance of the arts in their school work. Anderson and Mara explained the seven-year partnership between Sonora and Segerstrom Center's ArtsConnect education program. The teaching artists of ArtsConnect work with students and teachers during special residencies. These have included composing, puppetry and, most recently, ceramics. The artists show how these arts disciplines and forms relate to and enhance other core curriculum, such as history, social studies, reading, creative writing and science. The children presented each councilmember with one of their creations made in the ceramics class.

Center Thanks Local Schools

Staff members from the Center’s education and development departments visited Sonora Elementary School in Costa Mesa and McFadden Intermediate School in Santa Ana to thank students in-person for providing musical entertainment during the 37th annual Candlelight Concert fundraiser, which raised more than $1 million for the Center. During Candlelight Concert, Sonora’s Hand Bell Choir and McFadden’s Vocal Ensemble performed at the reception, reminding guests the funds raised from the evening positively impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of students who take part in the Center’s education programs each year.

To show the Center’s appreciation for the students’ talent, dedication and hard work, staff members presented each school with an honorarium to be used towards their music program.

A big thanks to Nick St. Royal and his students at Sonora and Greg Ellis and his students at McFadden for helping to make Candlelight Concert a huge success!

Photo above: Sonora Elementary School’s Hand Bell Choir performing during the school’s 2010 holiday concert.

Photo above: McFadden’s Vocal Ensemble during class

Photo above: Sonora Principal Christine Anderson, Mesa-Newport Unified School District Board of Education VP Walt Davenport, Mesa-Newport Unified School Disctrict Board of Education Member Katrina Foley, Center VP of Education Talena Mara, Sonora Music Director Nick St. Royal, Stephanie Jernigan and Aimee Cherie from the Center

Puppets Propel Learning

Master puppeteer Ellen Schulze, aka the Puppet Lady, is working with students and teachers at Sonora Elementary School in Costa Mesa to integrate the arts into the school’s curriculum to enhance learning in the classroom. The video above shows how Ellen utilizes puppets to help teach American history to fifth graders. Sonora Principal Christine Anderson also discusses how the arts have helped teachers with their lessons. Ellen is one of many artists in the Center’s innovative ArtsConnect program which introduces teachers and students to the inspiring and transforming impact the arts in education can have on academic development and achievement.